Meet the Academic Council

The summer field season is made possible by our amazing crew of volunteer teaching faculty. Each of them donates their valuable time to plan lessons and projects, get to Juneau, and spend every hour of their days guiding JIRP students through their discovery of the glacial environment. Our faculty make JIRP all that it can be.

During the winter, the Academic Council meets regularly to develop curriculum, read student and faculty applications, write grant proposals, and plan for the upcoming field season. In addition, each of them spends significant time with the Expedition acting as Academic Leads, managing academics in camp and leading student research projects. The Academic Council are a cornerstone of JIRP.

Academic Council Members

Dr. Brad Markle

DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS

Academic Focus: Climatology

Brad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Brad first participated in JIRP as a student in 2007 and since has taken many roles including field staff, staffulty, faculty, project lead, academic lead, and is now the Director of Academics. He has joined the expedition over 13 seasons. On JIRP, Brad teaches about climate, paleoclimate, and geochemistry and has lead student projects on geochemistry and climate. Brad studies climate variability and climate dynamics in the past using ice core records and models. He got his PhD from the University of Washington in 2017, went to New Zealand in 2011 on a Fulbright to get an MSc, and has a BA from Pomona College. He likes to climb, run, ski, drink coffee, and scheme boondoggles. JIRP was formative in Brad’s career and life.

Dr. Kiya Riverman

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS

Academic Focus: Glaciology

Kiya is a Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Portland, studying glacial hydrology and ice flow. She has been spending her summers with JIRP since 2014, leading projects ranging from active seismic and gravity surveys of Taku glacier to modeling the Icefield to supraglacial hydrology of the Llewelyn glacier. Kiya got her PhD in Geosciences from Penn State in 2017, and her B.S. in Earth Science from Oregon State in 2011. Her work tends to take her to far-off corners of the world, including Antarctica, Greenland, and Svalbard. When she’s actually at home in Oregon, she’s a fan of cooking overly complicated recipes, climbing/caving/canyoneering, fostering kittens, and the beautiful pairing of earl grey and a good book.
Kiya on JIRP: "Every year, JIRP reminds me why I study what I do. There's nothing I love quite so much as blowing student's minds over the beautiful complexity of glaciers."

Dr. Allen Pope

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS

Academic Focus: Remote Sensing, Science Communication

Allen’s day job is as Secretary General of the International Glaciological Society where he helps connect and support glaciologists around the word to advance their science. Allen first came to JIRP as a student in 2007 (with Brad and Seth!) and has returned to contribute academically every chance he has gotten since. Allen's remote sensing and GIS background has helped JIRPers visualize and analyze the data from their research, as well as share what they have learned with audiences in Atlin, Juneau, and international scientific conferences. He holds degrees from Harvard University (A.B. in Chemistry and Earth & Planetary Sciences in 2008), Cambridge University (M.Phil and PhD in Polar Studies in 2009 and 2013), and worked as a program officer at the National Science Foundation before starting at IGS. Allen also posts about polar science (@allenpope.bsky.social), is an avid trail runner, has taught yoga classes in JIRP cookshacks on stormy days, and is a mentor/dessert critic for the JIRP bakers and pastry chefs. He is also dad to Academic Council dog Tindur (see below).
Allen on JIRP: "For me, science is about processes and about people. On JIRP, we get physically connected to the processes we are trying to understand while learning from and working alongside some of the best people in the world."

Dr. Sarah Fortner

ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEMBER

Academic Focus: Biogeochemistry, Pedagogy, Science Communication

Sarah is an earth and environmental justice advocate and the Director of Sustainability at Carleton College. She has 20 years of experience as a geochemist working in glacial, urban, and agricultural environments. In the past she directed the Environmental Science Program at Wittenberg University, mentoring undergraduates in geochemical research including many from JIRP. She works on education and translational research projects that build sustainability literacy and support decision making. She collaborates with scientists, interdisciplinary educators, community stakeholders and policy makers at the local to national level. She's watched glaciers retreat firsthand on the Juneau Icefield since 1995. This is both sad and fueling.
Sarah on JIRP “I’m excited to be part of such an amazing community & working to make it as inclusive as it can be.”

Hannah Perrine Mode

ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEMBER

Academic Focus: Art, Science Communication

Hannah (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator based in Alaska and New England. She first came to JIRP in 2017 as an Artist-in-Residence and has been hooked ever since, now serving on the Academic Council to help integrate creative practice into field research, teaching, and outreach. Currently pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD at the International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Hannah investigates arts-based research as a method for collaboration, creative knowledge production, and reciprocal approaches to Arctic science. In addition to JIRP, she has also been a visiting artist or instructor with Inspiring Girls* Expeditions (Alaska and New Zealand), Chulengo Expeditions (Alaska and Chile), the International Arctic Science Committee (Iceland, with Allen!), Alaska State Parks, Parks Canada, and more. Her art has been exhibited widely across the U.S., including permanent public artworks in the Bay Area. She is co-founder of the art–science research collective Glacial Hauntologies (with Elizabeth!), and holds an MFA from Mills College and a BS from Skidmore College.
Hannah’s favorite JIRP activities include: making fancy costumes, exploring blue ice, snacking on pocket pancakes, practicing crevasse rescue, and painting new outhouse signs.

Dr. Elizabeth Case

ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEMBER

Academic Focus: Remote Sensing, Science Communication

Elizabeth (she/they) has a PhD from Columbia University, where they studied how glaciers form and move. She came up to JIRP in 2018 as research faculty and has never looked back. Before glaciology, they worked as an enviornmental journalist in California, a sci-clist with Cycle for Science, and received a B.S. in physics at UCLA. She currently lives in the Netherlands. Elizabeth interweaves art and literature into climate science and education, and is currently excited about how zines can be used for inexpensive, aesthetic science communication.

Dr. Daniel Shapero

ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEMBER

Academic Focus: Modeling, Physics

Daniel is a research scientist at the University of Washington and his main occupation is developing Icepack, a software package for simulating glacier flow. Daniel first came to JIRP in 2019 and teaches about fluid dynamics, glacier physics, numerical modeling, and measuring ice velocity in the field with GPS. The high point of Daniel's career was when a JIRPer sent him a note that said, "Only you could make students love tensors." He got his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Washington in 2017. He likes playing guitar, bike camping, and climbing things. He strives to be a good role model for his cat Mayhem.

Dr. Aaron Chesler

ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEMBER

Academic Focus: Climatology

Aaron is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Colorado College in the Environmental Studies and Science Program. Aaron has been involved with JIRP as a student (2011), staff (2015), and as faculty (since 2023). Aaron’s primary teaching focus is on paleoclimate/climate and geochemistry. He splits his research interests between the mid- to high-latitude southern hemisphere and ongoing changes in Alaska. He is particularly excited about exploring snowpack chemistry on the Juneau Icefield in regard to regional atmospheric changes that are occurring in the Gulf of Alaska. He got his PhD from the University of Maine in 2022, has commercially guided on glaciers in New Zealand, received his MSc in Volcanology and Geologic Hazards from Lancaster University (UK), and has a BS in Geology from St. Lawrence University. He likes to ski, mountain bike, play his guitar, and hike.

Dr. Seth Campbell

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH

Academic Focus: Geophysics

Seth had his first inspiring experience on the Icefield as a JIRP student in 2007. Between 2008 and 2017 he returned for several field seasons to teach geophysics and conduct research with students. In 2018, Seth took over as the Director of Academics and Research. Seth is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maine and a Research Geophysicist at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. He has participated in over fifty cryosphere research field seasons to Alaska, Antarctica, Canada, South America, and Greenland. Prior to his academic and research career, he worked as an Emergency Medical Technician, wilderness medicine instructor, and rock climbing instructor. He holds a B.A., B.S., M.S. and PhD in Earth and Climate Sciences as well as an M.B.A. Seth shares his office with his coworker/dog Kinley (see below).

Annie Boucher Krumdieck

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Annie’s primary focus at JIRP is on everything not directly related to the academic program, but there’s no real way to separate academics from operations at JIRP. Annie helps the Academic Council integrate the academic plans with the logistic components of the field program. She also plays a leading role in implementing many of the tremendous changes JIRP has undergone in recent years.

Ali Dibble

PROGRAM MANAGER

Like Annie, Ali mostly works on solving operational puzzles at JIRP, but those puzzles often involve the Academic Council. Ali helps the Academic Council with field season planning and curriculum development. She is also passionate about making JIRP a more accessible and inclusive organization, so she works with the Academic Council to implement equity initiatives proposed by the JEDI Steering Committee.